For most homesteaders and gardeners August and September are some of the busiest times of the year. Produce are coming in fast from the garden, and fall vegetables has to be planted right away or there won’t be time for getting a fall bumper crop. Here I am harvesting beans, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, okra and calendula, and making decisions if I should freeze, can or dehydrate. Both my canning shelves and my freezers are getting full, which are great, but it’s a lot of work and stressful at time.
It’s the best of times and the worst of times. You are tired, your back hurts and you worry that you can’t keep up.
It’s like that here too, except I have less to preserve now, than most, and also need to get my winter garden planned, beds prepared and seedlings started. I find that no matter how good I am at multitasking, som things will be forgotten, and that’s okay unless it’s you. At no other time of the year are self-care as important as it is now. If you don’t take good care of your body and mind, you lower your immune system and set yourself up for getting an infection.
Last week was bad. We lost our beloved 18 year old chihuahua Sunday morning, the same time we got ready for Hurricane Hillary. The grief overwhelmed me since he has been my shadow and for over 10 years of his life, worked as my service dog. The garden didn’t care if I was grieving, if kept growing and producing as life don’t stop because you need to take a break. After having a massive migraine, I decided to leave the garden and food preservation alone, and take some days off for self-care. I needed to let myself grief, and let my body and mind rest. I took 5 days off, where I didn’t do anything but rest, read, eat ice cream, take long baths, and sleep. In between we took Freddy to the pet crematorium, and picked out an urn for him. Because he got so old, my children don’t remember a life without him. It was a hard time, and it still is. Grief isn’t something you can get over in 5 days, but letting myself feel it and rest helped. My old energy are mostly back now both mentally and physically so I have gone back to work. I am still grieving, but it helped not having the pressure of work and instead take care of myself. Homesteading isn’t a 9-5 job. Some days you work 12-16 hours and other days a lot less. It’s easy to forget that this is a job, and as with any job you need time off.
I know that death and hurricanes, doesn’t happen often, but if it’s not that, it’s something else. Not having fixed working hours, does not mean we are on 24/7. We all have to remember to take care of ourselves during stressful times. The world doesn’t end, because we take a few days off to rest. If we don’t do it though, we risk needing a longer time off because we got sick from overworking. So remember to listen to your body and mind, and take some time off during this season, to just be. Hangout and relax with your family or do what I did. Having a good work and life balance, is something we all need to remember.
I can see in your writing the joy, fun and comfort Freddie gave you and I am sure he got it as well.
Sounds like he had a good life and that is important.
Just keep a vision of him in the side of your mind and you both may get continued joy.
John C Daley wrote:I can see in your writing the joy, fun and comfort Freddie gave you and I am sure he got it as well.
Sounds like he had a good life and that is important.
Just keep a vision of him in the side of your mind and you both may get continued joy.
Thank you I will. We got him an urn, and the crematorium also send us a paw print and a small bottle of fur. We are getting a 3D picture done, and he will get a memorial shelf in the living room.
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